


The Misery of Silence

by infp_tuna



Series: Voltron Oneshots [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hugging, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Laith, Lance (Voltron) is a Firey Boi, Langst, M/M, Major Character Injury, don't worry he's fine though, i guess, its lance, klance, only because he hasn't humaned in a while, surprise surprise everyone's bi, vld
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 20:45:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14941085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infp_tuna/pseuds/infp_tuna
Summary: At any other given time, in any other given situation, Keith loved peace and quiet. The Blade was quiet almost 24/7. But, in the Castle’s case, when it was quiet, normally it meant something was wrong. Whether it be because the wiring or paneling was failing or the air system shut off. Keith felt so guilty for it this time. All because of a certain Red Paladin.- - - - -Lance gets hurt, killing off his voice. Keith proceeds to feel guilty about it.Prompt: “Can you just shut up for five minutes?”





	The Misery of Silence

**Author's Note:**

> Warning beforehand: Lance's injuries have to do w/ his neck area, although I do not specify how it was done. Have fun w/ the langst

At any other given time, in any other given situation, Keith loved peace and quiet. The Blade was quiet almost 24/7. But, in the Castle’s case, when it was quiet, normally it meant something was wrong. Whether it be because the wiring or paneling was failing or the air system shut off. Keith felt so guilty for it this time. All because of a certain Red Paladin.

_“Can you just shut up for_ five  _minutes?”_

Keith honestly couldn’t believe how vicious and agitated he had sounded. Normally he could control his own venom, especially towards Lance, who’d been a pillar of strength in Shiro’s absence. The venom had probably built up, after weeks of being stuck in a base near two fucking black holes, barely talking with anybody, save for Kolivan and a random Blade here and there. Neither were good company to talk with. So being in the presence of so much commotion again didn’t help Keith’s… anything. It was painful, grating against his senses like nails on a chalkboard.

More painful now though, was watching the cold, blue light of the medical scanner run over Lance, slowly and precisely. The Red Paladin was frowning, looking at the Altean in front of him for an answer.

“How bad is it?” Hunk asked tentatively. His hands were clenched in anticipation.

Coran looked back at the Yellow Paladin, hesitance in the very fibers of his mustache. “Well, the tissue has healed beautifully around his vocal cords, but the vocal cords themselves are…” He trailed off.

“They’re what?” Pidge persisted.

“I believe the term is lacerated,” Coran sighed. “Yes, they’ve been lacerated.”

“Not like, beyond repair though, right?”

“I’m not really sure. It seems human and Altean vocal structures are quite similar, save for a few key differences; so I can look into how to repair them,” the older Altean replied with as much reassurance as he could muster. He was playing and pinching as his ‘stache again, which meant he was in a slightly better mood.

Lance gingerly touched his neck, the new skin still sensitive. The scar was… massive, honestly. It stretched across the left side of Lance’s neck and collarbone. His eyes weren’t focused on Coran anymore, favoring the floor now.

“Do you need any help?” Pidge asked. She already had her laptop out.

“Of course, Pidge,” Coran smiled.

Lance’s head wiped up from the floor to Pidge’s face before he opened his mouth to speak. Only a strangled squeak managed its way out. He quickly shut his mouth and screwed it in anger. It kinda reminded Keith of an angry kitten. Which, now that he thought about that, was weird.

“I’m sorry my boy, I wouldn’t try that. It’ll only make the damage worse,” Coran explained. Lance’s expression went from anger to exasperated and annoyed as he crossed his arms.

“The least we can do now is find ways help you,” Pidge stated. The look on her face was set with determination. Hunk nodded.

“Yeah. Honestly, I’ve always wanted to a nurse. At least in theory; it sounded cool when I was a kid.”

Lance snickered before pointed at Pidge’s laptop and making a typing gesture. Pidge handed it over and Lance wrote something out that made Pidge laugh and Hunk roll his eyes.

Throughout the entire conversation, Keith hadn’t said anything. He hadn’t even moved from his place in the doorway. His voice was caught in the back of his throat, his tongue stuck in its place. He decided then it was best to leave.

The room was too quiet.

The weight on his chest did not lift.

* * *

 

Back in his room, the events of last week ran through Keith’s head. The trip to the planet Burran, the sneak attack from Galra still loyal to Zarkon’s war mentality, to now. The Blade and Team Voltron were all on one ship for once; it was supposed to be a relaxing time. Save for Hunk accidentally lighting Slav on fire.

Keith’s knees were pulled up to his chin, body matching how small he felt. His words kept ringing through his head, over and over again:  _Can you shut up, shut up…_

_“Can you just shut up for_ five  _minutes?”_

_Lance flinched at Keith’s tone, but it didn’t stop him from replying, “What’s got your panties in a twist?”_

_The discussion between Shiro, Allura, Kolivan, and Lotor via hologram ceased. Pidge looked to Shiro and Allura in concern before focusing back on the two Red Paladins._

_Keith glared back at Lance. He could hear Kolivan’s warning, but the words were disregarded. “You’ve been talking nonstop since this meeting started, about the stupidest things! Focus!”_

_“I have been talking about the mission, thank you very much,” Lance sneered. He crossed his arms, matching Keith’s stance._

_“Guys-” Hunk tried. Neither gave him a chance to mediate._

_“Yeah, ‘hot aliens’ totally have to do with the mission,” Keith emphasized with air quotes._

_“I mentioned that as a joke, you numskull.”_

_“Oh dear,” Allura sighed. “Paladins, please-”_

_“It sure didn’t sound like it! All you do is focus on the attention you get afterward!”_

_Lance’s face contorted in anger, eyes icy. “My focus is on Voltron, but I can think of multiple things at once, Kogane.”_

_“Lance, Keith, that’s enough,” Shiro started, voice stern. Both of them actively ignored the Black Paladin._

_“What’s your beef with me mentioning the aftermath anyway? It’s not like you stay long enough to care.”_

_The others saw the flare of anger in Keith’s eyes long before it was there. Unfortunately for Lance, he did not. So he continued._

_“You’ll go right back to the Blade, avoiding us like you do. Giving us the cold shoulder. And why, because you don’t wanna be an actual Paladin anymore?”  
_

_Five steps forward and the Red Paladin was decked in the face. Hunk pulled Lance back quickly before he could retaliate while the Princess and Shiro held back a raging Keith._

_Keith writhed in their hold. “You think I don’t care!?” he seethed._

“Sure seems like it,” Keith whispered to himself in the present. He knew he was voicing Lance’s thoughts at this point.

He flopped back on his bed (somehow it was still his bed). After that little stint, Kolivan had put Keith on the other side of the room with another Blade (“Keith, that was unwise.” “I’m aware.”). The Burranian people welcomed them all with open arms, the planet’s officials willing to make an alliance.

The Paladins and Blade jumped into action when the surprise attack came. The Lions weren’t needed, thankfully, but it left the Paladins vulnerable. The only good thing other than preventing a planet-wide takeover was that Keith managed to behead the Galran responsible for taking Lance out of commission. It was surprisingly satisfying.

That was a week ago. Burran had sent its regards, and Kolivan had told Keith to take time off. “You need to mend some bonds,” he had said.

“Hard to do when someone’s in a healing pod,” Keith had sighed to himself. Mending the bond was going to take more than a simple apology, too. He’d been away for months now; he had to learn how to interact with everyone again. Even Shiro. And normally the easiest thing to do would be to talk to Shiro.

But before he could really talk to anyone, Keith wanted out of his armor. It needed to air out and he needed a shower. He stripped and then stepped under the stream and sighed happily; the Blade never had heated water. He was never taking warm showers for granted again.

Unfortunately, all of his clothes were back at the Mamora base. He could probably ask Coran for a spare outfit, but he couldn’t do that sans pants and shirt. He put on the night clothes that had been resting undisturbed in his drawer when he first tried them on. They were still too big. How fucking tall had Alfor been?

As he cuffed the sleeves and pant legs, a sharp knock came from his door.

“Who is it?” Keith answered.

Another two knocks sounded before the doors slid open. There stood an exasperated-looking young, Cuban man. One arm was akimbo, the other holding tablet, and his toe was tapping rapidly.

“Y-yes?” Keith asked cautiously.

Lance’s brows furrowed as he looked down at the keyboard and violently stabbing each key before he pressed enter. “ _Okay what’s going on you’ve been avoiding me I know it_.” No punctuation whatsoever.

“Excuse me?”

“ _You’re fucking avoiding me Kogane don’t deny it._ ” Lance looked at Keith again as his typing hand went back on his hip. Still no punctuation.

Keith didn’t reply. He opened his mouth, yes, but nothing came out. Lance was absolutely right, so it’s not like he could (or would) deny it. He shrugged though. “I mean… yeah.”

Lance’s brow raised in surprise. Was he expecting some sort of fight? He started typing again. “ _What’s up then?_ ” The concern, although not in the robotic voice of the synthesizer, was obvious in Lance’s expression.

Now Keith was frowning. “What do you mean?”

“ _I mean I’m worried Keith_.” Pause. More typing. “ _When you avoid one of us you avoid all of us._ ” Another pause and a look from Lance. “ _Emphasis on all._ ”

_You got me there,_  Keith thought. “Listen, it’s really nothing. If we’re on good terms again, it doesn’t matter right now.”

“ _Wait what?_ ”

“I’ve…”  _Now or never, Kogane._  “I’ve been avoiding you ‘cause I felt really guilty about what happened last week, and… about what I said.”

Lance squinted. “ _About what?_ ”

Keith was in disbelief. “I decked you in the face, Lance! I was so overwhelmed by all the talking and I wanted you to just  _shut up,_  and you didn’t, and then you go and say I didn’t care! And my first instinct was to punch you in your perfect face!”

Lance blinked, surprisingly not commenting on Keith’s wording at the end.  _“You think I’m still mad at you,_ ” ‘he’ stated.

“Yes!”

“ _What? You’re scared I won’t forgive you? You should still be mad at_ me  _after what I said!_ ”

“I’m really not!”

Both stared at each other, wide-eyed and baffled.

“Oh,” Lance managed to breathe out.

Keith nodded after a second, ashamed it took him this long to admit it.

Lance blinked, looking back down at the tablet. “ _Well, I’m not._ ”

“Huh?”

“ _I’m not mad at all._ ” Pause. “ _The opposite really._ ” Lance’s fingers twitched over the keys as he thought, then dived right back in. And there was actual punctuation this time. “ _After I got out, you avoided me all week. Refused to even look at me. I thought you were furious with me._ ”

Keith blinked, slowly. “Oh,” he finally said. “I’m… I’m sorry then. For doing that to you.”

Lance shrugged. “ _No problem. I have an idea on how to make up for lost time and stupidity though._ ”

“Do you?”

“ _How does talking aimlessly for a good hour sound?_ ”

Keith could feel his emotions bubbling up as he smiled in relief. He grabbed Lance’s wrist and tugged him into his room and his arms for a bone-crushing hug. God, it had been so long since he’d been able to talk with anyone, hell yes he’d say yes. Lance chuckled softly and returned the hug, the tablet on the floor and forgotten for a moment.

And, as promised, for a good part of the next twoish hours, the two boys talked.  
Lance told the story of planet Niitex, where some alien guy with the body of a god but the personality of a rotten potato tried to court and marry him in the span of a week, and then about the time Osra 78 when Lance hit it off with a girl with six, pastel-colored eyes, long white hair, and a voice that sounded like bubbles. Unfortunately, as soon as she saw Hunk, Lance was no match. Keith agreed that that was probably fair. “He is the most loveable,” he shrugged.  
Keith meanwhile recalled the one mission he was on where he had to fight an alien with eight arms and skill to bend metal at their will after thinking Keith was trying to hit on his significant other (he wasn’t, he was just scoping out information). It had been an unpleasant time. Kolivan had had to drag Keith outta there after the alien had been sedated by his s/o’s reasoning to not kill Keith (“I’m pretty sure she/they said something along the lines of ‘we don’t wanna piss off the bigger one,’ in reference to Kolivan.” “ _Logical._ ”).

Lance then asked Keith how life had been at the Blade headquarters, reasoning it couldn’t be so bad as long as the food wasn’t as tasteless as food goo.

“I mean, the Blade has goo, but whoever prepares it is obviously much more skilled than Coran,” Keith explained. “It varies from sweet and sour to savory. It was never as good as Hunk’s cooking though.”

“ _Yeah, if I’m ever away for a while for some reason, I’d ask Hunk if he could make, like, fifty meals for me to take,_ ” Lance replied.

“I wish I’d done that.”

“ _Well, now that you’re back, you can eat as much as Hunk can make,_ ” Lance snickered.

Keith frowned and looked down at his sheets. “I… don’t really know if I’m going to stay for long. Kolivan just gave me some time to calm down and to mend bonds. His words, not mine.”

“ _Well,_ ” Lance started, resting his chin in his free hand. “ _You could just stay. Not only to spend time with us; you have your mom now, right?_ ”

“Krolia is… a different case for me.”

“ _Not really. Still need to bond with her just like you need to bond with us_.” Lance turned to face more towards Keith, his back now against the headboard/wall of the bed. “ _We’re all your family. And you haven’t been here in a while. I think… that’s why things were so strained as soon as you got on here, yeah?_ ”

Keith scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess.”

“ _Exactly. So, here’s a plan: you and Krolia both stay here. We all bond and you become a Paladin again. Preferably Black’s Paladin, please._ ”

“Why Black’s? Isn’t Shiro doing fine?” Keith smiled.

“ _Everything’s gone to shit since you left,_ ” Lance huffed. “ _But, does that sound like a plan?_ ”

“I don’t know about becoming a Paladin again, but I think I can at least arrange Kolivan to let me take a more extended-” Keith hesitated and screwed his mouth as he thought of the right word. “-eh, vacation?”

Lance sputtered out a silent laugh. “ _Sure, vacation. That turns into a staycation._ ”

Keith sighed. “Yeah, sure.”

Lance typed one more thing before setting his tablet down again and then pressing enter. “ _We all good?_ ” His tablet monotoned as he opened his arms in welcome. Keith’s shoulders dropped in relief, and a sigh escaping his lungs. He scootched towards the former Blue Paladin, mirroring him and leaning into the hug. Lance then too sighed, shakily, like he was unsure if Keith would actually accept his offer.

The two didn’t move for a good while, rather just embracing each other’s presence. Their breathing eventually aligned, matching with their relaxed positions. Lance leaned back a tad, back hitting the wall so that he wasn’t holding all of Keith’s weight anymore. Keith nuzzled further into Lance’s neck. This was comfortable for him, familiar. Actual human contact. Maybe this plan to stay would actually work.

As if to read his mind, as if sensing his slight doubt, Lance tightened his hold on Keith, and managed out a raspy whisper. Only two words. But both were filled with untold emotion.

“Please stay.”

Keith exhaled shakily, tears starting to form and a silent sob threatening to escape. He tightened his grip on Lance’s shirt.

“I will,” he whispered back.

The silence was finally gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Have a prompt or idea? Hit me up on my main/writing tumblr, @infp-tuna  
> Have an nsfw idea? Find me on my "ecchi" blog, @ecchi-tuna ;3c


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